Sick Days
by StarWarrior72
Summary: No matter how great a Jedi you are or how fast you can run, the viruses still catch up eventually. When Luke gets caught by one of these bugs, it's up to his dad to try to make him feel better.


A ficlet dedicated to a friend having a bad day, I hope this makes you feel better.

Luke sneezed again and groaned as it tore at his raw throat. Sick days were never fun and this one had gone on for almost a week now. He felt his father's gentle hand carefully rubbing his back and trying to coax him through his miserable mood.

"It's all right, Luke. You'll feel better soon." Anakin helped his son sit up as another violent fit of coughing broke out.

"Right, that's what you've been saying for the past three days." Luke managed to rasp.

Anakin smiled weakly, "Well, yes. But time's relative. Compared to the life of a galaxy, your entire lifetime would be just a few moments."

"Please don't compare my lifetime and how long I'll be sick to the same thing. It's not making me feel any better." Luke rested on his father's chest. He was somewhat guilty that he was depriving the galaxy of their Jedi protectors by being sick, but the feeling was overpowered by his gratefulness that his father was willing to stay by his side.

"Sorry, I'll try to avoid cosmic terms," Anakin said. He carefully supported his son's head on his shoulder.

Luke relaxed for a moment then started to cough again. Suddenly, much to his horror, he coughed phlegm onto his father's back. He tried to pull away so it didn't happen again, but Anakin held him close.

"Dad, did you notice what I just did?" He asked awkwardly.

"Yes." Anakin patted his son's back and Luke coughed more phlegm, quite involuntarily.

"Don't you care?"

"Not really. If I had raised you I would have had you barf on me when you were a baby."

"But I'm not a baby anymore. What I just did is disgusting!"

"Yes it is. I've put up with worse. Just pretend it didn't happen, that's what I'm doing." Anakin rocked his son carefully and Luke relaxed again.

After a few minutes of stillness, Anakin assumed that his son had gone to sleep. He carefully laid his son back on the bed. Luke curled into a ball and started coughing again, waking himself up. He looked up at his father with wide, miserable eyes.

Anakin felt helpless and it was not a feeling he was particularly fond of. He slipped his hands back under his son's shoulders and helped him sit against the wall beside his bed. He wrapped a soft, warm blanket around his son. Luke folded himself more tightly in the blanket and Anakin picked up a mug from the bedside table.

He started to spoon it into his son's mouth, but Luke pulled away.

"I can feed myself!" he objected.

Anakin passed him the mug and he started to drink quietly. The smooth, warm mixture soothed his throat and he drank almost half of it without breathing.

"What is that?" Luke asked and immediately started coughing again.

Anakin laughed, "Shig and honey. Do you like it?"

Luke just nodded; he'd learned his lesson about talking out loud.

Anakin waited for his son to finish drinking and drew him close. Luke rested silently against his father's warmth. Anakin drew the blanket around both of them and Luke closed his eyes.

Leia slipped into her brother's room to find her father holding him.

"Is he asleep?"

"I think so. I'm pretty sure that if I move he'll wake up."

Leia sat on her brother's other side and set a tray on her father's lap, "These are for you. It's your lunches and some hard candies."

Anakin nodded.

Leia put one hand on her brother's head, "He's got a fever."

"I know. Do you know how to make him feel better?"

Leia shook her head, "No. Luke's immune system is pretty good and the odd time he does get a virus it's a stubborn one, the best we can do is try to keep him comfortable. Is he comfortable?"

"I think so."

Luke started coughing and woke himself up again. His eyes lit up a bit when he saw his sister and Leia put her hand on his cheek.

"How do you feel, Luke?"

Luke's voice was small as he responded, but it triggered another coughing fit, "Not good at all."

Anakin slipped a hand under his son's arm and turned the boy away from his sister before he gave a particularly violent cough and brought up more phlegm.

"Did he just…?" Leia asked.

Luke nodded miserably and when he looked up his eyes were dull again.

Leia stroked his hair, "Poor Luke."

Luke blushed slightly, but he didn't protest. Anakin watched his children comforting each other in wonder. He was still struggling to understand their relationship. So far, all he understood was that one way or another they had stayed friends for years.

Leia stayed with her family as long as she could, but she was soon called away by the Alliance.

Luke curled closer to his father. He felt way too cold because he was sick. Anakin put both arms around his son and Luke sighed.

"You don't need to be here, Dad. You're going to make yourself sick, being near me when I'm still contagious."

Anakin hated to lie to his son, but he knew that if Luke knew that he was no longer contagious he would be out in the galaxy making himself feel worse.

"I don't care if I get sick. It's worth it."

"Thanks, Dad."

Being sick is never fun, but if you have someone who loves you to take care of you and spend time with, it's not too bad.

The real recipe for the soothing drink is two teaspoons of lemon into a cup of hot water. Then you just add as much honey as you want. It really does make you feel better.


End file.
